Showing posts with label Ettore Sottsass. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ettore Sottsass. Show all posts

Friday, February 18, 2011

Alexander Calder constellations

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Some constellation wall sculptures by Alexander Calder. I scanned these from the book Calder's Universe, meaning to relate them to the Zolo toys, but amongst the Ettore Sottsass buzz I completely forgot. Anyway, aren't these awesome? My thought was, how fun would it be to do this with the Zolos? They already have holes drilled in them, so all you'd need is wire (or a thin dowel), and velcro (to keep it in place on a wall), and you'd end up with something like a "Memphis splat". And a way of actually utilizing the Zolos instead of keeping them sequestered away until the age of non-choking-hazard/non-banging-them-on-the-table comes around.
For that matter you could do this with any wooden toy- the Calder above the fireplace somewhat resembles one of those wooden Pinnochio figures, or a Kay Bojesen soldier. Although if you'd do this on a child's wall you'd most likely want to remain in the abstract.



Also, the Breuer's Constellation (middle photo) makes me want to put these into an orrery, or even make a completely strange Sci-Fi one, like a Star Wars orrery, with two suns, Alderaan, Endor, Death Star....

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Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Sottseuss

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Speaking of Ettore Sottsass, and kid's stuff, there's no kid thing more Memphissed-out than these wooden Zolo toys from 1985. We found them all ( there are about 50 pieces) in their original wooden case at a church sale. Chipped, splintered, and enticingly dangerous, they're probably not so safe to give to our son, so we'll happily use them as surreal Sottsossian objets until ...
actually these may be just a grown-up toy after all.





Monday, February 14, 2011

Happy Valentine's Day!

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... and be sure to click over to You Have Been Here Sometime and read our short guest post about Ettore Sottsass, his Superbox, and all things boxy and striped.


Saturday, July 10, 2010

Domestic Landscape Bliss

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Designer Fantastica Ettore Sottsass, from a 1974 Oui magazine article on the new domestic landscape.
And relatedly, really enjoying all the fascinating posts
lately about Poltronova at the excellent blog RoLu.

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Sottsass' luminous mirror, a photograph of which doesn't seem to exist without a half naked or enraptured woman in front of it.